What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Oil Sands Discovery Centre

Name: Oil Sands Discovery Centre
Address: 515 MacKenzie Boulevard, Fort McMurray, AB, T9H4X3, CA
Telephone: +17807437167
Price range: $$

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Oil Sands Discovery Centre

Sharing the Oil Sands Experience The Oil Sands Discovery Centre opened in 1985 as the Fort McMurray Oil Sands Interpretive Centre.

For more than 35 years, the Centre has presented the history, science, and technology of Alberta's Oil Sands while offering a broad range of science programming through special events, summer camps, and school field trips. The Oil Sands Discovery Centre is part of a network of provincially owned and operated historic sites, interpretive centres, and museums.

08/31/2026

Do you want to learn more about the machines in the Industrial Equipment Garden?

Let our interpreters share some of the retrofits that were done to make the machines work in the oil sands and how the bucketwheels would operate.

Our last garden tours of the season are this week at 11:00am and 3:00pm, weather permitting.

08/28/2026

As the summer starts to wind down, we’d like to give a huge thank you to our incredible Seasonal Interpreters! They have done a fantastic job leading school programs, summer camps, tours, and demonstrations since May.

08/26/2026

Mining shovels are enormous machines. One tooth can weigh 94 kg, or 205 lbs!

08/24/2026

Mining shovels can scoop up to 100 tons of oil sand at a time. Do you know how much one tooth on a mining shovel weighs? Come back on Wednesday for the answer!

08/21/2026

One of the most novel pieces of equipment in the Industrial Equipment Garden is the drill rig. This one-of-a-kind drill was used in the Underground Test Facility during the 1980s to test the concept of the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage process (SAGD).

The arm would have extended after the rig was lowered to the bottom of a pre-dug well, then would have drilled horizontally into the oil sand so that pipes could be put in.

Today, horizontal drilling has improved and there isn’t a need for a separate rig, but this procedure helped to prove that SAGD was a viable method of extracting bitumen from the oil sands.

08/19/2026

Alberta’s government is offering free and discounted general admission for young guests to our world-class museums and heritage sites in collaboration with the Canada Strong Pass, including the Oil Sands Discovery Centre. Guests under 18 are free, and those 18 to 24 get half-price admission.

From boat building at Fort George and homemade treats at Father Lacombe Chapel to vintage games at Victoria Settlement and Social Saturdays at Historic Dunvegan, this discount will help more people enjoy the history and culture that our province has to offer.

Take advantage of the Alberta discount as many times as you would like until September 7, 2026. You won’t need a pass or pre-registration – just show up and claim your discount!

Contact the Oil Sands Discovery Centre to learn more and plan your summer exploration.

08/17/2026

What a wonderful Saturday! Campers had a great time learning all about the Boreal Forest on Saturday! They identified footprints, made dams, and so much more.

This was a fantastic way to finish our summer camps for the year!

08/14/2026

Over the last few months, we’ve had lots of conversations about the price of oil. But what factors influence the price we see at the gas pump?

The type of oil, where it’s produced, and where it’s sold all affect the price we see. Bitumen is a heavy oil that is far from refineries, so it tends to have a lower price. Upgraded bitumen is lighter and sweeter, which increases its value.

Other things that impact the price include world events, market prices, and supply and demand. The price of oil can change quickly or slowly, depending on what is happening over time.

08/12/2026

Did you know? Draglines used to scoop oil sand out of the mines and onto conveyor belts. These conveyors would then transport the oil sand into the separation plants.

The dragline bucket in the Industrial Equipment Garden can hold 60m3 of oil sand and is about the size of a two-car garage. It could move about 3200m3 of oil sand per hour and its ‘dig to dump’ cycle was about sixty seconds.

Conveyors have been phased out in favour of hydrotransport pipelines (where the oil sand is mixed with water to create a slurry and piped into the extraction plant. This section was an ‘elbow’ – conveyor belts had to run in straight lines, so when the oil sand had to change direction, these pieces were used to redirect the oil sand onto the next section of conveyor.

08/10/2026

Our "Forces of Nature" campers had a blast building barometers, creating dams, and exploring the power of the Earth! Great job, we hope you had a great week!

Address

515 MacKenzie Boulevard
Fort McMurray, AB
T9H4X3

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+17807437167

Website

http://oilsandsdiscovery.ca/

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